InterFACE talent company draws criticism from clients

(WJLA) - You may run into their representatives at local malls, seen their ads in magazines, or heard their commercials on the radio - companies that promise to help you or your child break into modeling or the television and movie industry.

One company, InterFACE, has recently moved to the D.C. area, and some of its clients have walked away angry, frustrated, and out of a lot of money.

According to its website, InterFACE is a marketing company that has helped over 10,000 people get into the entertainment and fashion industry, but some clients say they have a different opinion.

“I think the company is in place to get people to draw them in as victims to take their money,” says Kyona Wright.

Wright says InterFACE took $1,000 from her 18-year-old son Ramonte and it took months to get it back. The Wrights say they were approached by an InterFACE representative in August while shopping at Arundel Mills Mall.

“When they walked up to me and said they had just opened up an agency in Maryland I was excited because that was what I was looking for,” says Ramonte.

InterFACE is headquartered in New Jersey and, according to the company’s founder, has helped connect clients for a decade. In a statement to ABC7 News, Roman Vintfeld says, “The first and often most difficult step in pursuing one’s talent is to find an agent or manager to represent you, and we have helped thousands… by arming them with the material they need to stand out.”

InterFACE expanded to the D.C. area last May.

“Within a week of their grand opening we started receiving complaints and they haven’t stopped,” says Edward Johnson of the Better Business Bureau.

The D.C. Better Business Bureau says the New Jersey Attorney General sued InterFACE for misleading consumers and pressuring them into signing expensive contracts.

Tamoko Dangerfield says she approached InterFACE after seeing an ad for the company, hoping to introduce her 4-year-old daughter into the modeling industry. She says she signed an initial contract for $900 and InterFACE set up a photo shoot and gave her three photos of her daughter.

“They told me there would be an additional fee to do marketing for my daughter which is $1,000, $2,000 and $3,000.”

Dangerfield says she refused to sign a contract and asked for her money back. She says all she has received are three photos. InterFACE says it is written on its contracts that clients have three days to cancel their agreement and they will be refunded their money.

After researching the company, the Wrights decided within three days of signing to void their contract, but getting their money back, they say, was no easy task.

“I was hung up on at least 14 times. I was transferred at least 11 times. I was put on hold so many times I can’t even remember. Just give me my money back.

Finally, after contacting the Better Business Bureau, they received a refund in mid-January.

“The company has an ‘F’ rating with the Better Business Bureau, and it is a well warranted ‘F’ rating,” says Johnson.

Roman Vintfeld, the CEO of InterFACE, provided the following statement to ABC7 News: